UPDATES

Carson National Forest, New Mexico

The Carson National Forest plans to release its travel-management plan in December 2008 or January 2009 for at least three ranger districts, the Tres Piedras, El Rito, and Canjilon.  You can view the forest’s Transportation Analysis Report and current forest plan
here.  The Carson National Forest is home to Wheeler Peak, the highest peak in New Mexico, as well as more than 86,000 acres of wilderness and deer, elk, antelope, black bears, mountain lions, and bighorn sheep. Its 400-plus miles of mountain streams may be at risk unless you get involved in Travel Management Planning and ask the forest to protect species habitat and riparian ecosystems. Also at risk are more than 300 miles of trails, some of which are certain to be designated for off-road vehicle use. Now is the time to get involved in the Carson’s travel-management process. Contact the Forest and ask to be notified of upcoming meetings and the progress of travel planning. Jack Carpenter, Carson National Forest NEPA planning coordinator, (575) 758-6221, carson_trvl_mgt@fs.fed.us.

Cibola National Forest, New Mexico

The Cibola is developing its travel-management plans by ranger district.  The Mt. Taylor Ranger District has just released its proposal and is accepting comments until November 8, 2008.  You can view the proposal and information about the upcoming meetings October 15th and 16th here.  The Mt. Taylor plan wisely prohibits cross-country travel for game retrieval, but unfortunately could open up 25 miles of currently closed roads and more than 100 miles of illegally created routes to motorized use.  In addition, the district plans to open up more than 3,000 acres of forest along 127 miles of road to allow off-road driving to camp. Please contact the Mt. Taylor Ranger District and ask them to put threatened and endangered species protection above the “need” for thrills in what should be our quiet refuge from city life.  You can email or call Arnold Wilson at awilson01@fs.fed.us or (505) 287-8833. 

Gila National Forest, New Mexico

The heavily watered Burros area of the Gila National Forest offers a critical link for wildlife passing from one of New Mexico's sky islands to the next. The Upper Gila Watershed Alliance and the Center have joined forces to monitor travel management in the Gila, and the Center recently sent a request asking the Forest to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement on its travel-management proposal; the Gila responded, indicating that it still plans to complete only an Environmental Assessment — a more cursory environmental document that won’t fully investigate the negative impacts of motorized recreation. We’ve also repeatedly asked the Gila to protect the San Francisco River from off-road vehicles, and the Forest’s management has ignored our requests. 

The Gila held a series of public meetings throughout September, including a number of meetings, held at the request of the motorized community, that weren’t posted on the forest’s Web site. The motorized community is pushing the Gila to allow motorized game retrieval despite the New Mexico Game and Fish Department’s recommendation, which prohibits this off-road use of our lands to protect game habitat for future generations and to improve the hunting experience for all. The draft proposed action shows a road going up the San Francisco River corridor, a route through the Mimbres River, and redundant routes through roadless areas.  We need you to contact the Gila and ask them to draft a proposal for managing off-road vehicles that will protect threatened and endangered species such as the Gila chub, Chiricahua leopard frog, loach minnow, spikedace, and Mexican spotted owl.  You can visit the Forest’s Web site for more information. The Forest will be releasing its plan in early 2009 and you can join more than 1,200 Center members and activists who have already commented on this proposal by submitting your own comments now!

Santa Fe National Forest, New Mexico

The official comment deadline for the proposal to manage off-road vehicles ended September 2, 2008, but you can still submit comments to the Santa Fe while it develops its environmental impact statement.  The Santa Fe has taken a good first step toward remedying damage from more than 30 years of the overuse of motorized vehicles in the forest, but more needs to be done, and off-road vehicle advocacy groups are sure to keep pressure on the Forest Service to expand the already excessive and often unauthorized motorized vehicle route system. User-created routes and routes going through Mexican spotted owl and Jemez mountain salamander habitat need to be removed. You can view the plan and the transportation analysis report here. The Forest continues to need your attention and support to ensure a travel-management plan that will protect imperiled species and the peace and quiet people seek when they escape from the city to the forests. We applaud the activism in the Santa Fe area and encourage everyone to continue to speak to the Santa Fe National Forest and other public officials about the destructive nature of unmanaged off-road vehicle use in our forests.  

Kaibab National Forest, Arizona

We still await an environmental assessment on the first proposed plan from the Tusayan and Williams ranger districts, and we’ll post those documents here as soon as they’re available. The Center and other members of the Arizona coalition working on travel management are gearing up to respond to environmental assessments to ensure species protection and quiet recreation take center stage in the resulting plan. The proposed action for the Williams Ranger District would open more than 10,000 acres of forest to off-road travel for car camping, including routes close to the Kendrick and Sycamore Wilderness. Car camping would also be permitted next to pronghorn habitat in Garland Prairie and the Wash Tub Priority Grassland Restoration Area. Documents recently released by the district indicate that it can afford only a fraction — just 20 percent — of the roads currently in the Forest, yet management is proposing a 1,300-mile road system and plan to reward illegal behavior by designating user-created routes as part of the system.  To see maps and transportation analysis visit the Forest’s Web site.

Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest, Arizona

This Forest published its proposed action in February after a series of contentious public meetings in late 2007. The Forest revised its plan to include additional off-road vehicle routes and areas after off-road vehicle advocates forced their way through public meetings, shouting down the quiet users in the crowd. The forest is still taking public comments on its proposed action, so it’s not too late to let managers know that quiet users do care deeply about the forest and want to see a balanced travel plan focused on resource protection, including protection for threatened and endangered species such as the Mexican spotted owl and northern goshawk.  The Center and other conservation groups will be meeting with the Forest to help develop alternatives that will offer the most protection for threatened and endangered species and to counter the influence of the motorized groups and local government officials who oppose all restrictions on motorized use in the Forest. 

NATIONAL FOREST SERVICE INFORMATION

New Mexico
Carson National Forest
Cibola National Forest
Gila National Forest
Lincoln National Forest
Santa Fe National Forest

Arizona
Coconino National Forest
Coronado National Forest
Kaibab National Forest
Tonto National Forest
Prescott National Forest